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Job outlook for partner development managers in the United States
Partner development manager job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected partner development manager job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 33,700 new jobs for partner development managers are projected over the next decade.
Partner development manager salaries have increased 8% for partner development managers in the last 5 years.
There are over 17,363 partner development managers currently employed in the United States.
There are 122,691 active partner development manager job openings in the US.
The average partner development manager salary is $131,265.
Are partner development manager jobs in demand?
Partner development manager job and salary trends over time
Partner development manager jobs over time
Partner development manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17,363 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 16,835 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 16,428 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 14,980 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 13,643 | 0.00% |
Average partner development manager salary over time
Partner development manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $131,265 | $63.11 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | $126,353 | $60.75 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | $123,990 | $59.61 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | $122,088 | $58.70 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | $121,118 | $58.23 | +1.9% |
Partner development manager jobs by state
Most common states for partner development managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 515 | 74% |
| 2 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,658 | 30% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 2,022 | 29% |
| 4 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 295 | 28% |
| 5 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,829 | 25% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 264 | 25% |
| 7 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 179 | 24% |
| 8 | Alaska | 739,795 | 167 | 23% |
| 9 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 920 | 22% |
| 10 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 414 | 22% |
| 11 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 129 | 22% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 2,694 | 21% |
| 13 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 2,205 | 21% |
| 14 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 662 | 21% |
| 15 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 179 | 21% |
| 16 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,793 | 20% |
| 17 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,701 | 20% |
| 18 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,381 | 20% |
| 19 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 582 | 20% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 418 | 20% |
Most common cities for partner development managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annapolis | 2 | 5% | $129,928 |
| 2 | Frankfort | 1 | 4% | $112,345 |
| 3 | Palo Alto | 2 | 3% | $154,825 |
| 4 | Dover | 1 | 3% | $129,502 |
| 5 | Hartford | 2 | 2% | $142,868 |
| 6 | Lansing | 2 | 2% | $128,787 |
| 7 | Mountain View | 2 | 2% | $154,754 |
| 8 | Springfield | 2 | 2% | $129,672 |
| 9 | Atlanta | 5 | 1% | $122,568 |
| 10 | San Francisco | 5 | 1% | $155,193 |
| 11 | Boston | 4 | 1% | $134,300 |
| 12 | Chicago | 4 | 0% | $130,781 |
| 13 | Los Angeles | 3 | 0% | $148,141 |
| 14 | Indianapolis | 2 | 0% | $127,579 |
| 15 | Sacramento | 2 | 0% | $154,916 |
| 16 | Baton Rouge | 1 | 0% | $109,721 |
| 17 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $112,781 |
| 18 | Des Moines | 1 | 0% | $125,399 |
Partner Development Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of partner development manager experts
University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Saint Mary
The Pennsylvania State University
Centenary College of Louisiana
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
What Partner Development Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jaunelle Celaire: Never stop learning! This may consist of going back to school, earning new certifications in your field of study, attending conferences and seminars, and making sure that your time management is always at its finest level of excellence.
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, Coordinator of All-University Honors ProgramUniversity of Saint Mary
Division of Business and Information Technologies (DBiT)
What hard/technical skills are most important for Partner Development Managers?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Familiarity with software-basic windows packages, particularly MS Word and Excel. Candidates should not be afraid of quantitative data analysis. Analytics are necessary to figuring out what your business is doing and how it can grow. Also, familiarity with whatever social media platforms are used in that industry can be very important.
What skills will help Partner Development Managers earn the most?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: One consideration is, does the position pay commission? If so, the soft skills listed above are extremely important because the more you apply those skills, the more likely you are to grow your business.
When a manager is not on commission, there's little correlation between skills and pay while doing the job. The employer will hire you at a given salary level, and it is your job to negotiate to the best position. Once they have chosen you-that's the moment when you have the most leverage. You will never get a raise that is as substantial as what you might be able to ask for upon hire. After that, most raises are not going to be tied mechanically to performance and skills. Your next chance at a raise will be when you move or are promoted to a new position. Thus, those soft skills can affect your ability to negotiate.
I will repeat a previous theme: education and experience are probably more important than skills in terms of making more money. An employer can't really tell what your skills are from your resume. Just because you say you have a skill doesn't mean that you really do. They can reasonably guess that somebody with a degree is responsible enough to have accomplished something big. Somebody who makes it through a graduate program is probably very good at what they know. And somebody who has been in the industry and/or in a similar job is more likely to be able to walk in with little orientation and know what they are doing. Employers take risks on employees and hope that they can deliver. Thus, with more education and more experience, you are able to apply for higher-level jobs, which usually come with higher salaries.
What skills stand out on Partner Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Resumes are hard. It is very difficult to predict what any employer is looking for on any resume. The "skills" section of a resume is probably not the first thing most employers are looking at. The first consideration is probably education. Those with a bachelor's degree will be sorted first in fields-such as those who have business degrees, or particularly sales and marketing majors. Those with MBAs will be placed on the top. Those who have MBAs and marketing concentrations will likely be valued the most. The second consideration would probably be experience. Someone with several years of experience in business development or sales and marketing will be moved to the top. Someone with a bachelor's degree who has a lot of experience might beat out a fresh MBA. However, MBA plus experience beats almost everything. Someone with an MBA going for an entry-level position with little experience needed will likely beat out all bachelor challengers. For new graduates, getting some kind of internship in sales and marketing can differentiate them from those who do not.
Most hiring managers will probably assume that somebody who has sales and marketing education and/or experience probably has the skills necessary to do the job. An interviewer may probe on specific skills. I'll comment more specifically on other kinds of skills below, but it's also fair to say that a candidate's soft skills should shine in the interview. Simply saying that you have certain skills on a resume doesn't mean that you actually have them.
I think that the best thing a candidate can do is to research the company they hope to work for and tailor their resume to that employer. What does the business do? What kinds of things do you think that development manager is going to do in that particular industry? How do your skills as a candidate match what you guess they're looking for? The more you customize your resume, the better chances you have of resonating with the company. Employers are impressed when you already know something about the job and the industry.
What soft skills should all Partner Development Managers possess?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: First, critical and creative thinking. Employers value problem solvers. A Business Development Managers' problem usually is finding growth opportunities. Candidates need to learn to take the initiative to figure out how to solve problems like those.
Second, writing. The best employees know how to communicate in writing. More and more communication occurs through email and other forms of social media and apps, and as such, this skill is absolutely critical. You don't need to be a creative writing genius, but you do need to know how to write in a professional tone, present your ideas in an organized way, get to the point, and avoid errors. There is a direct line between a student's ability to write an academic essay with a clear thesis and an employee's ability to write a good email or proposal. If you can't do those things, then you risk embarrassment and possibly limited options for promotion.
Third, speaking. The American business world discriminates against introverts-sometimes at their own peril. Everyone needs to know how to give a quality speech, but more importantly, you need to sound confident and assertive in a board room during meetings. You need to be confident in front of clients. Fake it if you have to. The way you present yourself is absolutely critical.
Fourth, social skills. You need to be friendly. Get to know co-workers and clients. Find out what they like and show an interest. Find common ground. Your undergraduate degree hopefully exposed you to a wide diversity of topics you may have thought were irrelevant at some point. Now is the time to remember that stuff and use it to connect with people. Nearly everything you learned will have some application someday. It will help you connect with others. In addition, put away your cell phone when you are at work or on social occasions. To some people, a preoccupation with a cell phone communicates a lack of interest in the person you are with. It can alienate bosses, co-workers, and clients.
James Wilkerson Ph.D.
Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program CoordinatorThe Pennsylvania State University
Business Department
What skills stand out on Partner Development Manager resumes?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities that matter especially strongly include target market analysis (including market research skills and knowledge), product/service positioning within competitive field, project work or coordination with sales staff, major client relationship management, and enough general business and industry knowledge to be able to relate business development to operational/production realities.
What soft skills should all Partner Development Managers possess?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Verbal skills (both speaking and writing), negotiation skills, unfailing honesty, ability to empathize with clients' wants, and teamwork skills suitable for working collaboratively with sales and operations staff.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Partner Development Managers?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.
What skills will help Partner Development Managers earn the most?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skill at rapidly learning market trends, relating business development to product development, and persuading major prospective clients when brought in to help with closing sales. Bottom line: the business development manager must be on the cutting edge of new market conditions and new business opportunities to help the firm organically grow its sales, especially in new markets or product/service lines.
Dr. Barbara Davis
William J. Atkins DeanCentenary College of Louisiana
Frost School of Business
What experience really stands out on Partner Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Barbara Davis: Graduates participating in internships related to their areas of interest. Internships spanning more than one semester at the same firm stand out as well.
What skills stand out on Partner Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Timothy Edwards: Writing and research skills. Analytical and critical thinking skills. Technical skills such as web design, graphic design, audio and video production skills. Employers are interested in potential employees knowledge, intelligence and skills.